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DRC rebels demand ceasefire

Sapa-AFP | 19 December, 2012 14:09

A M23 rebel fighter with a plaster covering his wound on his forehead walks as they withdraw near the town of Sake, 42 km (26 miles) west of Goma in eastern Congo November 30, 2012. Image by: JAMES AKENA / REUTERS

Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels on Wednesday demanded Kinshasa sign a formal ceasefire, accusing officials of dragging out peace talks to bolster the army's position on the ground.

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"The government is
refusing to sign a ceasefire," said the rebels' political chief Jean-Marie
Runiga told AFP.

"Without first
signing a ceasefire agreement it is difficult to continue with the
negotiations," he added, referring to talks which opened in the Ugandan
capital earlier this month.

The talks are the latest
in several bids to end a long-running conflict that has forced more than
900 000 people in war-torn eastern DR Congo from their homes.

The M23 rebels'
lightning capture of the mining hub of Goma on November 20, eight months
after the army mutineers launched an uprising against the government, had
raised fears of a wider war and a major humanitarian crisis.

M23 fighters, army
mutineers largely from the ethnic Tutsi community, pulled out of Goma 12 days
later, but still control large parts of the chronically volatile but
mineral-rich east.

On Tuesday, government
spokesman Lambert Mende accused the rebels of not fully withdrawing the 20
kilometres (12 miles) they had agreed to.

But Runiga in turn accused
the government of stalling talks to allow it and militia forces - such as the
extremist Hutu FDLR rebels, who the rebels accuse of being in collaboration
with the army - to strengthen its positions.

"The government is
not really committed to finding a solution through negotiations but is trying
to gain more time to reinforce its position on the ground and its alliances
with groups like the FDLR," he said.

The ceasefire heads a
raft of demands the rebels have made to the government, including a call for
major political reform for the war-weary region.

M23 grievances include
the failed integration of their troops in the army, including that their rebel
ranks were not respected in the national force, and that their salaries were
sometimes not paid.

They also accused
President Joseph Kabila of cheating in 2011 elections, and also complained
there is "no big store, no supermarket" in eastern DR Congo,
according to Kiyonga's list.

Eastern DR Congo,
which borders Rwanda and Uganda, was the
cradle of back-to-back wars that drew in much of the region from 1996 to 2003.
They were fought largely over its vast wealth of gold, coltan and cassiterite,
key components in electronic goods.

Both Rwanda and Uganda
have been accused of backing the fighters, with a UN report quoting sources
that more than 1 000 Rwandan troops fought alongside the rebels, while Kampala provided
logistical support.